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Utah State University
Utah State Magazine
1422 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT 84332-1422

’50s

Marilyn Call Walker ’52writes that she and husband, Reed Walker ’60, were “very interested” in the Spring edition of Utah State magazine, especially Lifting the African Sky, an article detailing Layne Coppock’s work in Ethiopia and northern Kenya. After Reed retired from teaching school, the Walkers went to Zimbabwe on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Upon their return home, they immediately desired to go back and eventually served in Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda. “We love Africa,” writes Marilyn, who herself taught school after graduating. Now in their 80s, the Walkers live in Perry, Utah, where Reed designed and built Walker Cinemas. They also own Cinefour Theater in Logan, and Walker Cinemas in Ogden, Utah.

’60s

D. Wayne Linn ’63 Ph.D. has a fish named after him — which not everybody who sends in class notes can (truthfully) say, although over the years, we imagine, some have tried. Collected by Trevor Davies at Lake Malawi, Haplochromis linni is a striking creature known for its contrasty appearance, extra-long dorsal and its “not incurved posteriorly” lower jaw. Because let’s face it, if that lower jaw were incurved, we’d be talking the genus Lethrinops, right? At any rate, Linn was given the honor, when as a Peace Corp volunteer and Malawi’s chief fisheries officer, he facilitated a discovery-filled expedition to the lake in October of 1974. But that’s only one highlight in a life well lived— lest we neglect such grand memories as marching with wife, Fae, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps in the local Ashland, Oregon, 2011 Fourth of July parade, spending summers at Rocky Mountain National Park doing research on fish in backcountry lakes, a similar stint in Grand Teton National Park and seeing son Jay become a cargo plane pilot, daughter Jenni a Red Cross administrator and son Doug a botanist/administrator for the BLM. Linn, who chaired the department of biology at Southern Oregon State College (now university) also taught at Dakota Wesleyan University, Utah State, the University of Swaziland and was a research chemist at the Mayo Clinic. He and Fae have traveled around the world “at least a couple of times.”

’80s

Emeritus Professor Richard B. Powers, who retired from Utah State University in 1987, has written The Astoria Chinatown Conspiracy, an historical crime novel based in 19th century Astoria, Oregon, where race tensions run high. Powers, who still teaches a course in conflict resolution at Portland State University, harbors a life-long interest in studying cooperation and in helping students to see things through the eyes of “the other.”

’90s

Beverly Wahl ’94 “can honestly say” that she uses her degree in psychology every day. She’s been employed for 12 years at Montana’s JCCS Accounting as an administrative assistant and enjoys working with clients. She reports “many wonderful” life changes since her graduation, including her son’s graduation from the University of Texas at Austin and her marriage to Tom Wahl, the most wonderful man she calls her “Cowboy.” Beverly has two step-daughters now attending college in Kentucky and, with Tom, enjoys her lovely home located on five acres at the base of the Bridger Mountains overlooking the Gallatin Valley. “This is truly the ‘Last Best Place,’” she says. Still, though, she harbors favorite memories of how beautiful the USU campus was during autumn and of select professors and classmates, to whom she extends many thanks for support and friendship.Gina Andrews ’96 is a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. State Department. She received a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Pittsburgh. She is married to Timothy Huizar a Texas A&M Aggie who is likewise a Foreign Service Officer. Currently assigned to Jordan, the couple and their three children are living in Amman. Previous assignments have been in Washington, D.C., Bosnia, Croatia, Iraq, Kosovo and Ireland. Gina and Tim enjoy their work and appreciate the education, training and circumstances enabling them to represent the United States in a variety of nations and cultures.Cary Burr ’97is working as the vice president of crane sales at Louisiana-based H and E Equipment Services, Inc. He’s spent more than two decades in various roles within H and E, including time in a sales internship in 1995.